Sembrando Sentido launches proAcción app to link citizens with nonprofits

Nonprofit organization Sembrando Sentido announced the launch of proAcción, a new web application that allows nonprofit organizations to promote their initiatives for free and generate greater reach among the island’s population, while users can learn about and join initiatives on social issues of interest.

“The limited reach that organizations achieve through traditional networks such as Facebook and Instagram mean that many people aren’t aware of the important work that nonprofit entities carry out, the services they offer or the social issues they work on,” said Issel Masses, executive director of Sembrando Sentido.

“Similarly, proAcción allows citizens to discover and connect with organizations that do extraordinary work in the socioeconomic development of Puerto Rico,” said Masses.

So, the platform seeks to promote activism and citizen participation in important issues that affect society in Puerto Rico, through the efforts of organizations, she said.

The new application can be accessed through the nonprofit’s website, where users can find initiatives and events of other nonprofit organizations there, searching by topic of interest or by location on a map of Puerto Rico.

The topics of interest and the organizations are grouped under the following categories: social welfare, education, health, human rights, gender equity, sustainability and environment, institutional development, citizen participation, transparency and anti-corruption, economy and finance, art and culture, and housing.

Both nonprofits and individuals may register on the platform.

Nonprofit organizations will be able to create a profile, in which they present their mission and share their web page, and educational content is periodically updated, such as reports and tools developed and calls for activities, workshops, campaigns or other initiatives that they wish to disseminate.

For the technical development of proAcción, Sembrando Sentido sponsored a Virtual Hackathon competition, and they also had the support of Filantropía Puerto Rico to create the platform.

“The winners worked on solutions to create and design the web application and identified collaborators to help us develop it,” said Masses.

Sembrando Sentido is a nonprofit organization that seeks to harvest knowledge, tools and inspiration to feed and strengthen the efforts of civil society for more transparent, responsible, inclusive and efficient government practices.

In 2021, the organization launched the Contactos en Ley, a free digital platform that monitors and evaluates public contracting processes in Puerto Rico.

The site is used by citizens, academics and journalists interested in the transparency of public contracting, as well as the government itself.